By Erik Gudris | Saturday, July 19, 2014
In a week where all the seeds fell, Mona Barthel and Chanelle Scheepers are the last two women standing at the Collector Swedish Open.
Photo Credit: Getty
Germany's Mona Barthel and South Africa's Chanelle Scheepers will contend Sunday's final at the Collector Swedish Open in Bastad.
ATP: Ferrer Schools Zverev in Hamburg Semis
The event became wide open after all the seeded players fell before the quarterfinals - only the third time that's happened in WTA history.
World No. 61 Barthel remained the highest ranked woman left as Saturday's semifinals commenced. Barthel took on Spain's Silvia Soler-Espinosa in what soon became a three set battle.
Barthel claimed the opening set only to have the Spaniard break her late in the second set. Soler-Espinosa soon closed out the set 6-4 to force a decider.
Soler-Espinosa would hold break leads twice in the final set. Yet, the Spaniard was unable to keep her momentum going as Barthel fought back. Barthel would go on to win 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 and reach her first final since winning the Paris Indoors last year.
Watch Barthel speak about the match afterwards.
Earlier, Scheepers faced off against Slovakia's Jana Cepelova in their semifinal. Despite Cepelova taking hold of a 5-2 lead in the opening set, Scheepers rallied to win it 7-5.
Scheepers assumed control in the second set and never let go of her early lead. Soon, Scheepers wrapped up the 7-5, 6-2 win.
Bastad is now the first WTA final for Scheepers in over three years. She last reached the final round at Guangzhou back in 2011.
"The final will be tough." Scheepers said. "I just want to go out there and play my game, keep playing the way I have all tournament and we'll see what happens."